Diptych Charlotte Stuby

In 2023, CC Het Perron, in collaboration with the Ypres Museum, organised the exhibition “I try to remember how your texture felt like”, which focuses on contemporary textile art. As part of this exhibition, artist Charlotte Stuby (born 1989) explores the history of Ypres, its local colour, heritage and cultural legacy, including the collection of the Ypres Museum.

Inspired by this research, she created a diptych: two cotton banners filled with images inspired by Ypres' rich history and the museum collection of the Ypres Museum. Although each quilt has a separate title, together they form a whole. The title clearly refers to Ypres' past and heritage. “Our Lady of Thuyne” refers to the miraculous rescue of Our Lady of Thuyne in 1383. In this work, we recognise a human silhouette.

The second banner, “Margriet's Protection”, pays tribute to the dragon on the Belfry, which watches over the city. Both are symbols of Ypres and protect the city, its residents and visitors. The diptych is richly decorated with screen printing, embroidered motifs and needlework. The knowledge and skill of the textile artist is clearly demonstrated in the versatile motifs. They create confusion and give viewers a reason to create personal stories. Charlotte Stuby has created her own visual language inspired by narratives and well-known historical images. The naive colours, combined with the fluid forms and composition, have a strange effect.

Despite Stuby's unique visual language and personal interpretation, it is clear where she drew her inspiration for this work. You can recognise medieval insignia that were excavated in the 1990s during an archaeological expedition in the Verdronken Weide, a low-lying field outside the city walls of Ypres. These small metal pins are intriguing. The wealth of images on these insignia is overwhelming and the themes inexhaustible, ranging from pure devotion to pure passion and eroticism. We recognise some insignia from the Ypres Museum collection: the crowned merman or the fish. Her fascination with heraldry, flags and insignia is clearly evident in this work.